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F. A. RUCKMAN.

RESERVE MAGAZINE AND SIGNAL. APPLICATION FILED FEB 6.1918.

1 ,3Q6, 355 0 Patented June 10, 1919.

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' of a generator.

.: TED earns Y T F Q --.'FLOYD A. RUCKJVIAN, OF COLUMBIA CITY, INDIAN A, ASSIGNOR TO JOHNSON AGETYLEN E GA$CO1VIPANY, OF CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA, A CORPORATION.

RESERVE MAGAZINE AND SIGNAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 10, 1919.

Application filed February 6, 1918. Serial No. 215,673.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,FLOYD A. RUCKMAN,

citizen of the United States, residing at- Columbia City, in the county of Whitley and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in- Reserve Magazines and Signals; and I do. declare the following to be a full,*clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to acetylene generators and its object is to provide a reserve cal-bid magazlne which will operate to dim the lights at intervals thereby providing a signal which indicates that the supply of carbid in the main magazine has been exhausted and the apparatus needs refilling. Another object of my invention is to provide a reserve'magazine of this'character in which means are provided to discharge a suflicient amount of carbid from the reserve magazine, at intervals as to allow the apparatus to operate for a period from the car bid which will be discharged into the main magazine. 7 v

Another object of my invention is to providea magazine of this character all parts ofwhich are readily accessible and may be easily removed andcleaned and which is so constructed that the maximum of use will be obtained with a minimum ofwear of the parts thereof. V j M r 7 To this end my invention resides in the novel combination, construction and arrangement of partsto be more fully hereinafter described and claimed when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this application and in which: v I

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a generator equipped with my reserve magazme' I r 2 is a detail vertical sectional view of the magazine on an enlarged scale Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line X-X of Fig. 2.

Briefly described my invention comprises substantially a reserve carbid magazine suitably mounted in the main carbid magazine The reserve magazine is providedwith a valve and operating mechanism therefor to discharge the reserve sup ply at intervals after the supply of cal-bid in the main magazine has become entirely exhausted. Means are also providedwhere by the discharge of carbid from the reserve hopper is augmented so that the carbid will be discharged into themain magazine and the machine will then operate for a period when the car-bid discharges from the main magazine.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in detail in which like reference charactors indicate like parts I have shown and described my reserve magazine as applied to an acetylene generator of the pit type which is constructedof the usual generator casing C embedded inthe earth and having mounted therein the ordinary form of gas bell B below which is secured on the inner shell S of the generatora suitable type of main carbid magazine M. This main magazine M is provided with a suitable valve mechanism to operate the same whereby to discharge the carbid from the magazine when the gas bell is lowered as the pressure of the generated gases decreases in the interior of the machine. In this preferred form I have shown a valve of the main carbid magazine as being operated by a push rod P which extends above the magazine and is adapted to be forced downwardly by the lowering movement of thegas bell.

Suitably mounted and preferably centrally located within the main magazine and supported on suitable brackets A, secured on the innerwalls of the main magazine, is my improved reserve magazine, which comprises a substantially cylindrical hopper'l provided with an inclined contracted mouth or funnel 2 and having acasing 3 extended downwardly around the mouth of the hop.- per and spaced for a considerable distance therebelow. This casing is, cylindrical to conform to the shape of the hopper body 1 and may be formed integrally therewith or secured thereto in any suitable manner. The function of this casing is to protect the operating parts of the valve mechanism. of the reserve magazine in a manner to be hereinafter described. The upper end of the hopper is open and isprovided with a diametrically disposed metal bar 4L extended thereacross and suitably secured to the upper end of the hopper and on this bar a pair of retaining nuts 5 serves to secure a cylindrical pipelor casing 6 depending from the bar 4 with its lower end spaced below the top of the hopper and provided with a bottom 7 which is suitably secured or threaded thereon, and centrally'apertured to receive therethroug'h a Valve operating rod 8. The

diametrically extending bar 4 is provided at its central portion with an aperture in alinement with the aperture disposed in the bottom 7 to receive and guide the :rod 8 therethrough. The operating rod 8 is vertically movablewithin the hopper and has its upper end extending above the top of the hopis pivotally secured thereon by'means of a pin 10 extended through the lower end of the rod 8 and journaled in a pair of lugs 11 formed on the bottom of the receptacle 9 and secured thereto in any suitable manner. The bottom of the receptacle 9 is apertured to permit ofthe passage of the rod 8 therethrough for its pivotal connection with the receptacle, the aperture being of suificient dimension to permit of relative movement of the receptacle with respect to the rod.' This receptacle 9 is normally disposed in a horizontal plane below the mouth of the hopper and supported in said plane by means of a depending strap or link 12 secured at one end to a lug 13 formedon the mouth portion 2 of the hopper and suitably secured at its outer end to oneend of the receptacle. The other end of the receptacle or pan is open andtadaptedfor the discharging of carbid therethrough. g Y

Coacting with the rod 8 and strap 12Vand serving as a further means for retaining the pan or receptacle 9 in its horizontal position is an expansion coil spring 14 surrounding the rod 8 and disposed within the casing 6 and having itsupper end-bearing against a sleeve member 15 slidably mounted on the rod 8 andpositioned within the aperture formed in the diametrically disposed bar a and provided with a suitably enlarged head to engagethe end of the spring. On the upperend of this sleeve 15 is seated a wing nut16 which is suitably threaded on the upper end of the' valve-rod 8 vat a point spaced above the diametrically extending bar 4 so that the sleeve will be forced downwardly against'the coil springfby the nut when the valve-rod isjactuated.

Arranged within the casing 3 and suitably secured in the walls of the casing is a sub? stantially funnel-shaped member 17 "spaced below the receptacle 9 and having its contract'edbottom portion disposedadjacent one side of the magazine. Pivotally mounted on the bottom portion of the funnel member 17, as shown at 18, is a flat plate or trap door 19 constitutinga closure for the primarilyppen lower end ofthe funnel member 17, and'the parts 17 and 19 provide a collecting rece 1 tacle disposed in the casing '3' W t e mouth of the reserve magazine. I The-closure plate 19 is-normally held against thebottom :of the funnel'member 17 by meansrof a weight 20' disposed at one end of the plate which weight may be varied to suitindi-vidual conditions as desired.

In the operation-"of my magazine, when the supply of carbid in the main magazine has been entirely exhausted, the gasbell set.- tles lower and, thepressure of the gas within the machine being decreased, the lights will be dimmed and thereby act as a signal to.

indicate that the main magazine needs'refilling. ,When thejbell is lowered a sufiicient distance the, top of the bell will come'into contact with the upper projectin iend ofthe V operating rod 8. which is normally disposed at a lower level than'the upper endofthe main magazine valve operating rod and which will be forced dow'nwardlyfunder action of the bell to open the valve 9at the month of the reserve magazine. Owing to the spaced relation of the valve 9 from the mouth of the hopper considerableamount" of carbid will beheld thereon exteriorly or.

r0618 iS- forced downwardly against the'lactlonofthef' the'hopper and when the operati spring 14, the valvej9. will be tiltedltoward its open endand the ca'rbid will then Lflow therefrom'into the lower receptacle, formed {by the tunnel member 1'7 and. the closure plate, 19. This allows carbidto pass from the hopper-to the valve 9 and the flow will continueuntil a sufficient amountjofloarbid has accumulated inthe loweroreceptacldito over-balance the weight ;20, whereuponf the closure plate or trapjdoorewill swing away from the lower end. ofthe-funriel. member,

and carbid Willbe precipitatedtherethrougho and into the main magazine andthen ce into o the generating chamber, iwhereupona sulfi cientamount of gas will be generated to lift 7 the bell clear of the flvalve-rod which will then be forced upward ;.by, action gof v the spring latobring the, receptacle oryalve 9 again into a horizontal position, thereby effecting a closure of the mouth of there: servemagazine. Q; L L The .carb'dprecipitated by this action through the funnel member 17 is more than sufiicient. to raise the bellsB. above the valverod P, so thatjthe valve tithe-main receptacle M closes.before all this supplemental charge has passed therethrough and partof this charge is retained; within the 'Emain 7 magazine, and :the apparatus willoperate for a period on thereserve quantity of ear -7 bid which willfbe .dischargedfrom the main 7 her disposed below the manner reserve magazinelthrough the action ioffthefbell. B. nthe rod Pjand the valve operated-bythe I magazine to act as a retarder for the carbid, the gas bell would settle or remain approximately stationary on the operating rod of the reserve magazine, and cause a continual slow dribble of the carbid from the reserve magazine with a consequent continual dimming of the lights, which is very undesirable.

Owing to the construction which I have just described, there will be only a momentary dimming of lights, and this dimming will be repeated at intervals; and at each operation of the reserve magazine an overcharge of carbid will be discharged therefrom which will accumulate in the main magazine and thereby permit the machine to operate for a period by the operation of the valve of the main receptacle.

The spring 14 is of sufficient strength to counteract a considerable part of the weight of the gas bell, which will serve to decrease the pressure of the gas and thus dim the lights in the manner described, until the reserve magazine has discharged into the main magazine. By means of this Wingnut 16 and the rod 8, the valve 9 may be tilted upward or downward from its hori zontal position so as to increase or decrease the amount of pressure necessary to cause it to discharge its load of carbid, this resulting in varying the degree to which the lights are dimmed.

While I have shown and specifically described certain details of construction and materials used in the operation of my improved reserve magazine I do not wish to limit myself to these details and the construction as described herein, as this is merely the preferred embodiment of my invention, but such changes may be made in the details of construction and in the materials used as come within the scope of the appended claims.

' I claim:

1. In an acetylene generator, a main carbid magazine having an outlet, a feeding device for controlling the passing of carbid through said outlet, a reserve carbid hopper having an outlet above the outlet of said main carbid magazine, a feeding device for controlling the passing of carbid through said outlet of the reserve carbid hopper, and

an automatically dispensing receptacle be 2. In an acetylene generator, a main car-,

bid magazine, a valve mechanism to control the discharge thereof, a reserve magazine above the valve mechanism of said main magazine, a valve mechanism for said reserve magazine, and a receptacle between the first and second said valve mechanisms, said receptacle having a bottom pivotally connected to the body thereof, said bottom being 7 provided with means to normally hold it up but being adapted to swing down on its pivot so as to open the receptacle when a predetermined quantity of carbid has been received thereby from the said reserve magazme.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FLOYD A. RUCKMAN. Witnesses:

LLOYD T. BAILEY, GEO. O. COMPTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

. Washington, D. 0. 

